The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has yet to approve a proposal from a thermo electric power project on the dumping of 2.5 million cubic metres of waste mud into the local sea.

The environment ministry has yet to approve a proposal on the dumping of 2.5 million cubic metres of waste mud into the sea

The project on building infrastructure for the Quang Trach electricity power complex in the central province of Quang Binh, is seeking permission from governmental agencies to dump the mud, which is dredged during the construction of a harbour for the transport of coal for the power plants in the complex.

Nguyen The Dong, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Environmental Administration, said when approving the project’s report on environmental impact assessment in December last year, the ministry had not permitted the dumping and required the project’s investor to continue assessing environmental impacts of the dumping of mud in the ocean.

The project's investor also has to devise a plan on the dumping, in accordance with the 2015 Law on Sea and Island Resources and Environment and the Government’s Decree 40/2016/ND-CP stipulating the enforcement of a number of articles of the law.

The plan should be submitted to the authorised agencies for assessment and permission.

Dong stressed that the dumping can only be carried out after the authorised agencies give approval and hand over the sea location for the dumping.

He noted that dumping the waste mud is the last resort, and the MoNRE advises investors to optimise the use of dredged materials such as for sea dyke building.-VNA